updated 10:45 am EDT, Fri October 28, 2011

ITG xpPhone 2 uses Windows 8 with 1.6GHz CPU

Chinese electronics maker ITG is preparing a successor to its Windows XP-running smartphone in the xpPhone 2, which uses Windows 8. The first smartphone to do so, it gets a 4.3-inch touchscreen to display the desktop software's Metro-inspired interface. It measures in at a large 140x73x17.5mm (5.5x2.9x0.7 inches), and hardware will also be nearly desktop-like, with a 1.6GHz CPU, 2GB of RAM, and as much as 112GB of storage space.

The type of chip used isn't being specified, however, but it's likely an Intel Atom. Talk time is claimed as a very long 18.5 hours, though it's expected to be much shorter when using Windows 8 for anything else. ARM is theoretically an option, but most such chips will clock in above or below 1.6GHz.

Pricing remains unknown for the device. It should go on sale sometime in 2012. [viaSlashGear]